I Love You Becky Swanson
by YVR Country Girl
Summary: Caleb runs into an old friend on his way home from a rodeo.


Caleb was hungry. The passenger seat of his truck was littered with the remnants of this morning's breakfast: three Snickers candy bars, five Oreo cookies, and a cup of vending machine coffee. That was three hours ago. The highway stretched across the prairies and out in front of him as far as he could see; it was a long way back to Heartland on an empty stomach. But at least his heart was full. He had a new sterling silver belt buckle, the first prize for Saddlebronc at the Bashaw Rodeo two days ago. He couldn't wait to get home to brag about his latest win to Ashley. And Amy too. She was never far from his mind these days.

He hummed along to a George Strait song playing on the radio. He missed having Kit's lively chatter now that she was taking on more responsibilities around her parents' farm. And it was still hard to convince Ashley to make the trips with him. She told him it was awkward. Felt like they were starting over again. And she was right of course. He wasn't in a rush either. He didn't want to ruin the precious bits and pieces of trust he had earned. More importantly, he had finally gotten his trailer back. Don't really want to give that up again, he thought.

He thought about Amy too, especially between his turns on the broncs. He imagined her pointing out the flaws of each horse, why they were acting the way they did, the mistakes the other riders were making and how they could be fixed. He had even considered asking her if she wanted to come with him on his next trip. Ty would flip, he thought, but I don't care. Jack, on the other hand, probably would have a thing or two to say. He wondered if Amy's father Tim would be more sympathetic.

The billboard he drove past was an ad for a Maggie's Diner. "Come in for our home-style cooking. Two kilometers ahead." The thought of eating Maggie's famous meatloaf sandwiches made him push down harder on the truck's accelerator, and within minutes, he got off the highway at the exit, and within seconds he was pulling into the diner's parking lot. The lunch-time crowd had taken all the available parking spaces. As he was looking for space that would accommodate his truck and trailer, he noticed a red Honda civic parked by the side of the road, not far from the diner. The car's hood was open. The license plate was hard to miss. HOLLYWD, it said. He smiled. He parked his truck and trailer and walked over. The driver, an attractive young woman with shiny auburn hair was sitting in the driver's seat. She watched him approach her car.

Caleb leaned over by the driver's side window. "Hi. Do you need any help?"

There was a sparkle in her hazel eyes. "As a matter of fact I do," she replied, smiling.

She got out of the car. She was wearing a sleeveless red dress and stilettos that looked like she was walking on nails. Caleb admired her slim figure and her long hair that moved and shimmered in the summer sun like it had a life of its own.

"Do you know anything about cars?" she asked coyly.

"What seems to be the problem?"

She leaned provocatively against side of the car. "Well, it just won't start." Caleb's eyes were drawn to her red lips, and then elsewhere, the meatloaf sandwich forgotten.

He took off his hat, and handed it to her with a grin. "I'll try my best."

She placed the hat on her head. "You always do," she whispered in his ear which made him blush.

"You're a little feisty, aren't you?"

"I thought that was what you always loved about me," she replied, lifting her arm to touch his hair. "Your curls are gone," she said sadly.

He took a side-step away from her, pretending to examine the far side of the engine. "Well, things change. It's been a long while since we've seen each other."

She let her arm fall to her side. "I wonder why? So how are things these days, Mr O'Dell?" she asked, trying to hide the disappointment from her voice.

"Not too bad. Got a job at a ranch working for some nice folks. Been doing the rodeo circuit and winning some points; I'll be turning pro pretty quick at this rate. In fact I've just been to the …"

"Bashaw Rodeo," she interjected.

He straightened up from under the hood to look at her. "How did you know?"

"I used to live here." She waved the space around her. "You did too." She took his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. She was glad he didn't try to pull away. "Remember we used to go up to the lake not far from here to watch the sun set and then stay to look at the stars? Remember that, Caleb?"

You're not easy to forget Becky Swanson, he thought to himself. No one forgets their first love how ever hard they might try. Becky had scrawled "Becky and Caleb are going to rule the world!" in his high school year book. He had his doubts about his world-conquering abilities but there were none at all when it came to Becky and what she was capable of. For a small-town girl, she had already been acting since she was ten, and after high school she was offered an audition for a movie in Hollywood. It was understood that he would move there with her, but he wasn't thrilled about it. He never told Becky how he felt; it was hard to picture living in a place where people grew grass instead of grain.

"So are you still living in LA?" he asked, drawing her so close their knees were knocking against each other.

"I'm in New York now. And they do have cowboys there although most of the time he's naked and he entertains the tourists."

They laughed and his blue eyes met hers. She laid her head on his chest and felt him place his arms around her. She had been dreaming of this moment for three years.

"Hang on." Through the driver's side window, she leaned into her car and brought out a small package. She handed him back his hat and gave the package to him. He looked down at it. It was a wrapped meatloaf sandwich from Maggie's Diner. "It's your favourite, isn't it?" she asked.

"You remembered." He was pleasantly surprised.

"Not so fast cowboy. Fix my car first and then you get to eat."

Caleb allowed her to playfully push him back to the front of the car. She kept him company as he checked out the engine though they remained quiet, each reliving the past in their own mind.

"I'm been meaning to say something to you for awhile now," Caleb said, breaking the silence. "Three years ago, I asked you meet me at the Bashaw Rodeo."

Becky nodded. She had been wondering when he was going to bring it up.

"We haven't seen each other since you went to LA for the audition," Caleb continued. "I was going to follow you to LA after the rodeo ended."

"I was there," Becky said.

"I know. I saw you cheering in the stands." He remembered getting her phone calls from LA, how excited she was about meeting this and that director, and how eager they seemed about hiring her. She told him about the apartment she found and how she couldn't wait to fill it with their things. _Their_ _stuff_.

"I'd just like to say that… I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left without giving you an explanation."

Becky stood looking down at the floor, her face hidden from view. When she did finally look up, the tears Caleb expected were not there.

"I waited until they told me to leave," she said. "The first hour I was totally panicking because I thought you were lying in some hospital injured and couldn't get in touch with me. When I moved back to LA and didn't hear from you, I realized you weren't coming at all."

"I never wanted to move. They don't even have a rodeo circuit there."

Becky held his hands. "It was unfair for me to expect you to move."

"The truth is," said Caleb, "I did try to call you afterwards but I hung up each time."

Becky chuckled. "I kinda suspected that. Look," she held his face in her hands, "I still love you," she said hoarsely, "I always will. I want you to know that."

Caleb didn't know what to say. It wasn't the reaction he had expected, this quiet acceptance of the past and her moving on. She had always been the adult in their relationship.

"Caleb, I want another chance. There's a rodeo circuit close to New York. I want you to consider moving there to be with me."

Wow, he thought, I certainly didn't expect that at all. After the shock wore off, he thought about Ashley and Amy waiting for him back in Heartland. Even though he had strong feelings for Ashley, sometimes it felt like he was more interested than her in doing something about it. Becky remembered his favourite sandwich from three years back, and who still loved him even after he had broken her heart. Would he and Ashley ever have what he and Becky had?

"I'm… flattered," he said.

"I sense a 'but'."

"There is an Ashley."

"Ashley?" she asked. "She's a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, more or less."

"Which is it? More or less?"

It's complicated, he thought. "Could you call her and ask her?" he joked. "And let me know what you find out?"

Becky sighed. "Every summer when I visit my folks," she confessed, "I would park the car by Maggie's during the rodeo season. I had this crazy idea that I'll run into you, we would suddenly fall back into love and you would agree to move to New York with me. It was a nice dream."

"It's just a dream, Becky," Caleb said.

"Well then," she whispered. "It's time to wake up."

She walked away quickly, needing to put some physical distance between them.

"What about your car?" he said. He was sure they would never meet again after this, but he had to know she would be alright.

She stopped and turned around. "There was never anything wrong with it," she admitted. "The driver, on the other hand, needs to get some new directions."

She watched him get into his truck and drive away. Again. This Ashley had a great guy and she doesn't even know it. She closed the hood of her car, started the engine, and drove off in the opposite direction.


End file.
